A Mother's Lament
by SoapBox Bill
Summary: Why did Raven leave? Will she come back? What was going through her mind? Those questions will be answered, but more importantly what is she going to do about it? An alternative take on Raven.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n So I had my first RWBY story in my WotW oneshots. I may go back to that and make a sequel of of, perhaps even a full story. But first I had another RWBY plot bunny rattling around in my head. One that focuses on Raven and my theory on why she left.**

 **Enjoy.**

Fear. True gut wrenching fear.

Terror.

Such a foreign concept. Never in her life had she felt like this before.

Not against Grimm, or any opponent she has ever come across.

But the biggest blow came from what the source of this fear was.

A child.

A child only a few days old.

Her child.

Yang.

Raven Branwen, feared Huntress and member of the illustrious team STRQ was afraid of a newborn baby. Her own baby.

When she was pregnant she knew the hormones were getting to her. She was irritable, well a bit more irritable really, she put so much energy into making sure everything was perfect for when the baby came.

Raven was strong, determined and in control, ready for whatever challenge would come next.

She was wrong.

Now she is filled with foreign feelings.

Fear, Worry, Anxiety.

Doubt.

'How can I be a mother?' she thinks to herself. 'I'm no role-model. I grew up in a bandit camp for Dust's sakes'

She looks down to the baby lying in the nursery of the hospital.

"She is so beautiful, so pure and innocent." Raven whispers then looking down to her own hands. "What can I teach her? All I know how to do is fight and kill." Her vision flashes, her hands stained with blood.

"She would be better without me. Both her and Tai." Tears begin to fall from her red eyes.

She returns to her room in the hospital. Tai is gone, he said he had to talk to one of the doctors about something.

Raven grabs a slip of paper and writes a quick note.

It says "Tai, I can't do this. I know I am not cut out to be a mother. I am leaving."

Folding the note she places it on the bed and opens the window. Taking in a deep breath she changes into her raven form and flys away.

/With Tai/

"Doc, I'm worried about Raven. She hasn't been the same since she gave birth." Tai said to the doctor as he leaned against the wall of a room. "She seems almost, I don't know depressed. I have never seen her like that."

"Well that is not to uncommon, especially considering this is her first child." The doctor says reviewing a chart from Raven. "It is possible she has been experiencing some postpartum depression."

"Postpartum depression?" Tai says, "How serious is this?"

"If you are concerned we can evaluate her, depending on a severity it could just be a bit of reassurance or maybe just a bit of medication." The doctor says as he grabs his clipboard and heads towards the door.

The two pass by the nursery and Tai picks up his daughter, holding her in his arms as they continue to Raven's room.

They find an empty room, Raven nowhere to be found. Tai reads the note and hands it to the doctor. He then goes to the open window and stares out searching for the tell-tale black feathers of his beloved.

"Oh dear." The doctor says as he reads the simple note.

Tai tries to hold back his tears, knowing that his Raven is suffering and not being able to do anything to help her.

A single black feather floats into the room on a breeze. It drifts and dances before falling right onto baby Yang. The newborn girl grabs at the feather and softly begins to cry.

Reaching out, crying for her mother.

But she is gone.

Months pass, then a year and still no word from Raven.

Qrow's anger at his sister eventually faded.

Tai is doing his best to raise a baby girl as a single father.

And Summer is doing her best to support them both. She keeps telling them she knows Raven will be back. Raven is her partner after all. In some ways she knows Raven better than even Tai and her brother.

As Raven's partner she feels like she is Yang's godmother. A statement that Tai would not dispute. She helps her friend and teammate raise his daughter and begins to see little Yang as her daughter as well.

Tai and Summer grow even closer and then two years after Raven left, little Ruby Rose is born.

Years pass and Raven has been wandering the world, fighting, slaying grimm, using violence to distract her from the pain she feels.

All the violence to her justifies her decision to leave. That she is not meant to be a mother.

But it still hurts.

Over time the fear and doubt faded. Only to be replaced with guilt and shame.

"I abandoned them, my team, my _FAMILY_!" she shouts as she slashed through another horde of grimm. Her feelings of pain and sorrow drawing even more for her to fell. "Yang…. How can I possibly face her with what I have done?"

Eventually Raven manages to muster up the courage to portal to Tai and try to apologize and try to make amends. In her bird form she peers into the house.

She sees little six-year-old Yang, a wild mane of blonde hair as she plays with some blocks on the floor. Tai smiling as his little girl stacks the blocks and then knocks them over with a giggle.

The scene makes Raven's heart ache. She should be down there. She should be smiling at her daughter as well.

Then a voice draws her attention.

It is her partner, Summer. What is she doing at Tai's house?

She has probably been helping Tai with Yang. Summer was always good with kids.

She would be a great mother….

Oh.

Summer enters the room carrying a little bundle.

A child.

Just one look is all Raven need to see the truth. Summer and Tai's child.

Summer glances out the window. For a moment Raven thinks she has been spotted.

"Tai could you hold Ruby for a minute. I need to take care of something outside." Summer says with a smile.

Tai gladly hold his youngest daughter as Summer walks out the back door to their little house.

Summer take a short walk away from the house. Raven is too stunned to do anything. She is walking right towards her.

"Hello Raven, how have you been?" Summer asks with a smile.

A smile!

Like she is actually happy to see her. Like she….

One look into Summer's eyes confirms it. She is glad, she is happy that Raven came back.

How? Why? So many questions run through Raven's mind but she stays frozen on the branch looking down at Summer.

And she is still _SMILING_.

"Raven I know why you left, Tai does too. You were scared and you didn't know what to do. We don't blame you for what happened. And we will always welcome you back. We are a team Raven, partners. We will always be there for you." Summer says looking up at Raven on her perch.

She then turns and walks back to the house. As the door shuts whatever spell was holding Raven is broken.

They don't blame her.

They don't blame her.

But she blames herself.

And the guilt and shame she feels rises to new heights.

And again she flys away.

The next day Summer was called up on a mission.

As she left she gave Yang and little Ruby a kiss and promised she would see them when she made it back home.

But not all promises can be kept.

 **A/n I have decided that this will not be a one shot and I will be returning to this story soon! Also Vol 6 is really hitting all the right spots, no spoilers though. And yes that one line is a reference to Red Like Roses part 2.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed my first RWBY fanfic. Keep an eye out for chapter 2 coming soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n Here is chapter 2 of A Mother's Lament. This will be the final chapter of this particular story.**

 **However I do have a sequel in the planning stages all ready which will follow RWBY girls.**

 **Now back to the story.**

Raven flew away.

She flew as far and as fast as she could.

Not bothering to change back to her human form.

Not wanting to. Knowing that if she did she would not be able to stop the tears.

She flew right into a storm. The chaotic wind and rain perfectly matching with the torrent of emotions in her heart.

They forgave her.

They never blamed her.

They wanted her back.

In one way, hearing that warmed her chilled heart. In another it made her feel so much more regret, sorrow and shame.

Finally she could fly no more. Out of energy and unable to maintain her bird form she crashed to the ground.

The mighty Raven, Huntress and badass reduced to crawling under a tree for shelter.

And just like she predicted the tears came.

At the very least the rain concealed her tears. And the storm concealed her anguished cries.

Morning came and passed. By the time Raven awoke the sun was already high in the sky. She sat beneath that tree and did something she hadn't done in a long time. Take a long, hard look at herself.

She is brash, abrasive and mean. Only those who really knew her could see beyond those traits.

Tai called her determined.

Qrow called her fierce.

And Summer said she was her best friend.

She cared for her team more so than even her tribe. She fought against those feelings for so long. Even arguing with Qrow when he wanted to give up their original mission and really be Huntsmen. To really protect people.

Her team mattered more to her than anything else.

And she abandoned them.

Being the best like they were meant that eyes would look to them.

Ozpin. Beacon's Headmaster. So much more than what he appeared to be when she first enrolled.

Now she and her team were embroiled in his war against Salem. The Witch Queen of the Grimm.

Even after she left she couldn't walk away from that war.

Ozpin found her just after she left. How? She was never able to figure out. Maybe some remnant of the magic he used to allow her to turn into a bird.

The thought annoyed her.

But Ozpin made use of her distance from the team, sending her on special missions and clearing out Grimm. But as the missions went on, as her lust for battle dwindled she started asking questions.

She was Ozpin's eye, his spy. Over the course of her missions she learned things. Eventually she learned things that made her question the Great and Powerful Oz.

Magic, she knew about magic and then she learned about the maidens. Finally it was the relics. Ozpin had in his possession four powerful artifacts but never used them. Not once were they used in all the years she had fought in this centuries old war.

Ozpin was up to something. He was hiding something.

And now her family was in the line of fire.

Taking a deep breath and steadying herself she finally came to a decision on what really mattered to her.

Her team, Her family.

Not fighting, not Ozpin or his war against Salem.

She exhaled and focused herself.

Now came the rough part. Who to approach first with her return.

First she thought of her brother Qrow. When she focused on him through her semblance she saw him playing around with Yang and Ruby. The sight warmed her heart, seeing her grizzled, playboy brother playing the part of the "cool uncle." She didn't want to interrupt that moment. Too much to explain the the kids all at once. She didn't even know how she was going to explain it to Yang.

Next her mind turned to Tai. The man she loved. He was at home at his desk with glasses on looking at papers.

Wait? Glasses? Since when did he wear glasses?

A closer look showed that he was grading papers written by his students at Signal.

'Ah so that's why Qrow is looking after the kids for the afternoon.' Raven thinks with mirth. Tai needed to catch up on his grading. On the desk side by side were two pictures he would occasionally glance at.

One of her holding Yang just after she was born.

And an identical one of Summer holding Ruby.

Maybe Summer would be the best option to go to. She did come out to speak to Raven last night. She was the one that said they forgave her for what she had done.

Her best friend.

Her partner.

Her emotional rock.

Yes Summer would be the best person to talk to about all this.

With her semblance she peered through the link with her partner.

And her blood went ice cold.

Blood.

So much blood.

Summer was fighting. Fighting for her life against a hoard of Grimm.

Instantly Raven's hand was at her sword slashing the air open creating a portal to her friend.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" She shouts in a rage cutting down one of the Grimm that was about to attack Summer from behind.

All her rage, all her sorrow and regret poured into her blade.

Never again. Never again would she hurt those closest to her. Never would she allow them to be hurt.

Summer, Tai, Qrow, Yang and even Ruby were her family. Her real family. And no one was going to take that away from her.

She turned to Summer who looked ragged yet at the same time happy to see her long lost partner.

Raven gave her an assured smirk as the two began cutting through the Grimm, tearing them apart.

But even with the addition of a pissed off Raven there were just too many.

Summer was exhausted, having used the power of her Silver Eyes too much.

She was slowing down and the Grimm kept coming. Nothing stopped them. The monsters poured from the dark foreboding castle in the distance.

"Summer we have to get out of here there are too many!" Rave shouts over the growls and screams of the demonic monsters.

"I ah ah I think you're right Rae ugh." Summer's words cut short by a massive black and white spike through her chest.

"NO!" Raven yells slashing out at the monster before catching Summer and portaling away.

/Tai's house/

Taiyang Xiao Long sat at his office desk grading papers from his student's at Signal. He was so behind on his grading that he asked Qrow to look after the girls for the day.

To him it was odd with the house being so quiet.

Every now and then his gaze would turn to the pictures on his desk. The two women he loved holding his little girls.

He worried about them.

Both of them.

They are strong kick ass Huntresses, but he still worried.

When they were on a team they watched each others backs it was part of what made them so good. But then Raven ran off and now Summer was on a solo mission from Ozpin.

He was jerked from his thoughts when he heard a violent crash and a scream coming from the living room. He rushes into the room to find the two mothers of his daughters lying in a pool of blood as Raven desperately tried to cover a massive wound in Summer's chest. He freezes as his blood runs cold.

"No Summer! No no no no no. Stay with me Summer stay with me." Raven shouts tearfully as she desperately tries to save her friend.

"Raven." Summer coughs out barely able to breath. "Could you do me a favor?"

Tears streaming down her face Raven replies. "Anything, just name it." She keeps trying to bandage the wound, keeps trying to keeps Summer from bleeding out. But a part of her knows it is pointless as her heart breaks.

"Look after the girls for me, and keep Tai and Qrow out of trouble." Summer says as her breathing starts to slow, her pulse weaken and her heartbeats fainter.

"I will. Of course I will." Raven cried as she held Summer.

"I always knew you would come back." Summer smiled as a final breath escaped her lips and her eyes closed one final time.

Feeling Summer go limp in her arms Raven's crys became full blown wails as she clutched the body of her dear friend, her sister.

Tai falls to his knees across from her, his arms limp at his side as tears stream down his cheeks.

And so the two lovers were reunited at long last as they mourned the loss of one of the great lights of their world.

 **A/n And this is where we will end A Mother's Lament. Raven has been through some really emotional stuff and has made a promise to Summer.**

 **But how will Raven being there affect Yang and Ruby? What will happen when they go to Beacon?**

 **Those questions and more will be answered in the upcoming sequel, Silver Thorn Eclipse.**


End file.
